Why Aren’t You Delegating?

No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit. Andrew Carnegie

How many times have you thought, “why don’t they let me get on with it instead of stepping in and taking over?”. Probably more times that you think you have. Delegation comes easy to some but almost impossible to most! In this article by Amy Gallo, she explores this and provides some great advice for us…

You have way too much to do, you’re buried in work, and it seems there’s no way out from under it all. But there is: delegation. Yes, yes, you know it’s important to do and you know it will save you time and help others develop new skills. So why aren’t you doing it?

What the Experts Say

Delegation is a critical skill. “Your most important task as a leader is to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the world doesn’t go to hell if you take a day off,” says Jeffrey Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and author of What Were They Thinking?: Unconventional Wisdom About Management. Delegation benefits managers, direct reports, and organizations. Yet it remains one of the most underutilized and underdeveloped management capabilities. A 2007 study on time management found that close to half of the 332 companies surveyed were concerned about their employees’ delegation skills. At the same time, only 28% of those companies offered any training on the topic. “Most people will tell you they are too busy to delegate — that it’s more efficient for them to just do it themselves,” says Carol Walker, the president of Prepared to Lead, a consulting firm that focuses on developing young leaders. But both Walker and Pfeffer agree that it’s time to drop the excuses. Here’s how.

Watch for warning signs You may not realize that you’re unnecessarily hoarding work. There are warning signs, however. “A classic sign of insufficient delegation is that you are working long hours and feel totally indispensable, while your staff isn’t terribly energized and keeps strangely regular hours,” says Walker. You may also feel that your team doesn’t take ownership over projects and that you’re the only one that cares. If they use phrases like, “I’m happy to help you with this,” it may be an indication that you’re doling out tasks, not handing over responsibility.

Understand why you’re not delegating There are plenty of reasons why managers don’t delegate. Some are perfectionists who feel it’s easier to do everything themselves, or that their work is better than others’. Pfeffer calls this “self-enhancement bias.” Some believe that passing on work will detract from their own importance, while others lack self-confidence and don’t want to be upstaged by their subordinates. No matter how self-aware you are, don’t assume that you’re immune to these biases, Pfeffer advises. Instead, you need to proactively ask yourself what you’re going to do to counterbalance them. Walker notes that letting go of these misconceptions can be extremely difficult and often organizational culture doesn’t help. “Giving up being ‘the go-to expert’ takes tremendous confidence and perspective even in the healthiest environments,” she says. “It’s even more challenging in the average company, where being a good manager is seen as a ‘nice to have,’ but where producing the core deliverable is what is truly esteemed.” But accepting that you can’t do everything yourself is a critical first step to delegating.

Measure how you’re doing Once you’ve recognized what’s standing in your way, the next logical step is to adjust your behavior. In reality, however, very few people know what to change or how to change it. “If you asked most managers how they spent their day, they are not going to be able to recall it accurately,” says Pfeffer. He advises keeping a daily diary of how you spend your time. After a week, you’ll start to see patterns. “You’re likely to find that a lot of time is spent on low-leverage activities that can be delegated,” says Pfeffer.

Choose the right people Some managers fear delegation because they’ve been burned in the past. It’s important that you pass on work to people who have the necessary skills and are motivated to get the job done right. Ideally, you should be able to delegate some form of work to everyone on your team. If you push work as far down the hierarchy as possible, you will free up time and help all your staff members grow.

Integrate delegation into what you already do Delegation shouldn’t be yet another task. Make it part of your process for creating staff development plans. Discuss which types of projects and tasks you will pass on to them so that they can build the skills they need. “Make sure it’s written down as part of their performance goals and discuss how you will be mutually accountable for making it happen,” says Walker. Then create a cheat sheet that lists each person’s development plan and put it somewhere visible. “This should help to spur your thinking about opportunities to delegate as they arise normally in your work. And the assignment will be welcomed because the employee understands clearly how it fits into the development plan,” says Walker.

Ask others to hold you accountable Give your direct reports permission to call you out when you haven’t delegated something you should. Remember that it’s never easy to give your boss feedback, so be crystal clear that you are open to and expect this kind of input. Also, let them know that they’re responsible for their own growth and if they see a project they want to take on, they should ask for it. Really let go After you delegate, your job as a manager is to observe and support your direct reports, not dictate what they do. “It’s not about making the decisions for them. Develop their critical thinking skills so they become better at intervening in their own situations,” Pfeffer says. Give your employees space. “If you want people to learn, you have to permit them to make mistakes and figure out how to correct them,” says Pfeffer. Micromanaging defeats the whole purpose. Be careful though. It’s possible to be too hands off. “While you don’t want to tell people how to do the job, you must be in a position to evaluate their performance and development,” says Walker. Don’t walk away from a task you’ve delegated. Stay involved but let your employee lead the way.

Learn from experience Once you’ve started delegating more, pay attention to the results, and learn from your mistakes. Ask yourself how you can tweak your approach. Can you delegate more involved tasks? Should you give your direct reports more freedom? Do you need to monitor progress more closely? Be patient with yourself while you practice. “You’re going from an ‘I’m going to do everything because I know better than everyone’ mindset to ‘I’m going to let people learn’ mindset,” says Pfeffer. It may take time, but the payoff is great.

Principles to Remember

Do:

Take note if you’re overwhelmed and your team members don’t seem to have enough to do — it’s a warning sign

Keep a visual reminder of your team’s development goals so you can easily identify opportunities to delegate

Ask your direct reports to call you out when you haven’t delegated enough

Don’t:

Assume that you aren’t biased about other people’s performance

Give someone else responsibility for something and then micromanage the task to death